alguacil
English
Noun
alguacil (plural alguacils or alguaciles)
- Alternative form of alguazil.
Spanish
Etymology
Borrowed from Andalusian Arabic الوَزِير (al-wazīr), from Arabic وَزِير (wazīr, “minister”). Compare visir and Italian aguzzino.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /alɡwaˈθil/ [al.ɣ̞waˈθil] (Spain, Equatorial Guinea)
- IPA(key): /alɡwaˈsil/ [al.ɣ̞waˈsil] (Latin America, Philippines)
- Rhymes: -il
- Syllabification: al‧gua‧cil
Noun
alguacil m (plural alguaciles)
- bailiff
- Synonym: bailío
- sheriff
- Synonyms: sheriff, cherife
- (Rioplatense) alternative form of aguacil
Alternative forms
- alguazil (bailiff, obsolete)
Derived terms
Descendants
Further reading
- “alguacil”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025